1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for deflecting wind in the bed of a moving pickup truck and more particularly to apparatus for being easily installed and removed from pickup truck beds and methods enabling such.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of pickup truck air foil apparatuses is known in the prior art. More specifically, pickup truck air foil apparatuses heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of reducing air pressure and wind drag forces in a bed of a moving pickup truck are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,312 to Stallings discloses a tailgate wind deflector apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,259 to Booker discloses a truck bed air deflecting tool box. U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,498 to Benchoff discloses a pickup truck retractable endgate airfoil. U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,838 to Slater discloses a combined airfoil and loading ramp for a pickup truck. U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,263 to Hesner discloses an air deflector. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 351,819 to Baddeley discloses a combined pickup truck air deflector and storage cover.
While the devices undoubtedly work as intended, the aforementioned patents describing these devices do not describe or suggest a tailgate deflector apparatus that is quickly and easily installed and removed from the tailgate and bed of a pickup truck.
In this respect, the tailgate wind deflector according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for quick installation and removal from the tailgate and bed of a pickup truck.
In view of the foregoing, the present invention provides a tailgate wind deflector apparatus for use in a bed of a pickup truck that is quickly and easily installed and removed from the tailgate and bed of a pickup truck. To attain this, the present invention comprises a generally rectangular sheet made of either flexible or rigid material having an exterior surface and an interior surface. The interior and exterior surfaces are interconnected by a periphery formed of a long horizontal top edge, a long horizontal bottom edge, and a pair of short side edges extending therebetween.
Top and bottom sets of fasteners for attaching the deflector to the bed and tail gate of the pickup truck are also provided, each of which includes first and second releasable fasteners for engaging and disengaging each other. The first fastener of the top set is affixed to the interior surface of the sheet along the sheet""s top edge thereof while the first fastener of the bottom set is affixed to the interior surface of the sheet along its bottom edge. The second fastener of the top set is affixed to the top edge of the tail gate of the pickup truck and the second fastener of the bottom set is affixed to the floor of the pickup truck bed. In addition, the second fastener affixed to the truck bed floor is attached to the floor at a location where its distance from the second fastener affixed to the tail gate is generally equal to the length of the short side edges of said rectangular sheet.
When the first and second fasteners of the top and bottom set are pressed together (or otherwise caused to engage each other) the deflector will be securely attached to the bed and tailgate of the pickup truck and thereby in position to serve as a wind deflector for the tailgate of the pickup truck when the truck is driven.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining the disclosed embodiments of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.